Almost a month after the President of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta said the lockdown on counties will not be lifted due to unpreparedness in some counties, The Governors for these counties are now pushing for a gradual reopening of the Kenyan economy.
The Council of Governors chairperson Wycliffe Oparanya has said that in the period between June 6th when the lockdown was extended and now, the 47 counties have put in place enough safety measures to manage and slow down the spread of Covid-19 warranting the reopening.
“After consultations with my colleagues, we advise President Uhuru Kenyatta to gradually open the economy,” Mr. Oparanya, said Tuesday. “Enforcement of measures and protocols aimed at combating Covid-19 pandemic should continue to be enforced during the process.”
The Kakamega Governor reported that a total of 16,914 health personnel had been trained on Covid-19 management among them 59,449 community health volunteers. He added that 36 counties have a cumulative sum of 343 ICU beds while 28 counties have a total of 337 ventilators.
“Through your directive that allowed county governments to procure non-pharmaceuticals from other agencies, counties have enhanced their response measures,” Mr Oparanya said told the President.
President Kenyatta on June 6 extended the economy lockdown citing the level of preparedness by counties to respond to Covid-19 infections.
“County readiness to respond to new imported cases of infection will largely determine our national readiness to reopen the country as a whole,” President Kenyatta said told the Governors in a virtual meeting on June 25th.
“I say this because the nation is the sum total of all the 47 counties. If the counties have met the necessary thresholds, then the nation will be ready to reopen.”
In a progress report presented last week by the governors, counties had attained a total of 6,898 isolation beds which is low against the required national target of 30,500 units.
Every sector of the Kenyan economy has been hard hit and has been calling for the ease of the measures the President has put in place. He will review the restrictions on Monday.
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